Who is "The Oilers Franchise Player" for the next ten years?

Don't be ruling out Brule just yet folks, he's looking like the type of player that makes players around him better

Great pickup. We've loaded up on early-1st-round picks in Whitney, Brule, Gagner, MPS & Smid. Then whatever we get this year. Some guys just take longer to develop than others - particularly defensemen.

Great pickup. We've loaded up on early-1st-round picks in Whitney, Brule, Gagner, MPS & Smid. Then whatever we get this year. Some guys just take longer to develop than others - particularly defensemen.

I never realized we had that many players that were picked in the top 10

Right now it could be any one of Sam Gagner, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall or Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson for the Oilers. Interested in what we've got in these four players. All of them are great pieces to have with-in any organization.

The question is who is going to be the franchise player for the next ten years? If the answer is Gagner (meaning he will be our best player for the next decade) then yes, we are in trouble. Does that mean he wont develop into a good or even very good player? No. But for the question at hand, the statement is viable, and in fact probable.

if you look at chicago they have kane and toews... but also have hossa as well as keith/seabrook/campbell locked in longterm

then they have some great role players bolland/ladd/sharp/buffy, obviously some of these guys will go but that's why you keep developing guys so they can replace those who leave...

oilers already look to be heading down the same path if you look at there developing players...

hall or seguin/eberle/gagner/hemsky and whitney and smid on the backend (hopefully petry adds to this list as well)

brule/penner/cogliano are all guys who aren't long term guarantees but there are people like mps/lander/nash who can replace them possibly...

i think it will easier to sign players/build around them once the younger players develop, it will just give management a clearer picture of what the team needs...

The only real problem with Chicago is their cap issue at the moment... but you make some good points

Quote:

Originally Posted by I am the Liquor

The question is who is going to be the franchise player for the next ten years? If the answer is Gagner (meaning he will be our best player for the next decade) then yes, we are in trouble. Does that mean he wont develop into a good or even very good player? No. But for the question at hand, the statement is viable, and in fact probable.

Agreed. Gagner is a solid player but I don't think he's a franchise player.

You guys naming Rick Nash as a "franchise player" is evidence of how much stock you guys put into these types of high-caliber players.

What's the point of having a "franchise player" if there's nobody around him to support him, Columbus has made the playoffs once in 10 years in spite of the fact of them having a "franchise player" that the Oilers currently do not.

This is just to say that even if we are so lucky that Hall or Seguin would turn out to be as valuable as Rick Nash, it doesn't mean much unless they have the supporting cast. Or else the team will keep on sucking.

For people saying MPS! Eberle! Gagner!... Columbus has seen that story before too: Brassard, Voracek, Klesla, Zherdev, Picard, Brule. They were/are all highly touted prospects and first round talent that Columbus has accumulated over the years. Not to mention Steve Mason, they're still nowhere because they don't have veteran leadership. The path that the Oilers are about to take seems eerily similar and I hope they take a different path rather than waiting for all this youth to develop into a team that's spinning it's wheels.

That would be a colossal waste of a Nash-esque franchise player (Hall).

Agreed. Gagner is a solid player but I don't think he's a franchise player.

Doug Gilmore and Vinny Damphouse are actual comparisons for Gagner. Both REALLY good players but niether are franchise 'build a team around' type guys. The next franchise guy will be who we pick at the draft this year if all goes as planned.

The best part is we have some good pieces to put around him now (Hemsky and Gagner are 2 great pieces already) if Tambi manages our team right this summer. Signing a proven winner and talent like Jagr would go a long way in developing these guys quicker too.

This is a crucial year for Oilers with so many players RFA's and UFA's and the 1st/2nd pick ours. Cap management will be set this year or destroyed for the Oilers in my opinion. A winning summer for Tambi in my opinion is:

Jagr...UFA signing 2 years at 3-4 mil per
Gagner...extended 4-5 years 3.5 mil per
Hemsky..not traded
Potunly....extended 2-3 years 1 mil per
Brule...extended 4-5 year 1.75 mil per
Cogliano...not traded but resigned 4 years at 1.75 per
Pouliot extend 2 years under 1 mil per
Comrie resigned 2 years under 2 mil per
C. Armsrong...UFA signing
Seguin picked as 1st overall by Oilers
Johnson...extended 3 years .75 mil per
Stone...resigned 2 years under 1 mil per
Souray...convinced to stay and stop fighting, our new Captain
Petry...signed and at the fall camp
Both Eberle and MPS at the fall camp (I am confident both players are going to convince the Oilers to keep them this year.
Horcoff and his contract moved no matter the return
JFJ...released
Khabi.. retires from back surgury, contract off the books
Moreau, Pisani (not resigned), POS, Nilsson...all gone
Penner traded with good return

I honestly think that if Penner worked on his conditioning and dieting he'd easily be a 75+ point player, what did he have 38 pts first 33 games? Then something like 12 the next 30 or so? But look at him since the olympic break, he's pretty much back at point per game...is it a fluke that so many Oiler players are so streaky? Or that so many oiler players keep getting injured/re-injured? Who the heck runs the strength and conditioning on this team? Are these guys doing their own routines or are they each doing proper workout routines designed by people who know what they're talking about? This may sound off topic, but it's not(keep reading)...because I'm sick of seeing all these out of shape un conditioned oilers tiring out all the time, are these guys doing their sprints? What about HIT training (High Intensity Training-Go all out 30 secs, slow down one minute, go all out 30 secs, and so on 5 rounds or so), What about Overhead Cleans, or Clean and Jerk, or proper form squats and deadlifts? C'mon man, by the look of some of these players, their energy levels they seem like they dont know the first thing about working out and nutrition...lets get them on some proper programs and drinking their green tea, taking proper shakes, eating more veggies(mostly greens), lean beef and chicken..then maybe we can one day have half the team the hawks, caps, or pens dress...
Alright, how does that have to do with franchise player? I believe if Penner had more motivation or fallowed a proper plan he could very well be the one....but...as of right now..the closest thing we have and he's not there yet but might one day be...must be Ryan Whitney...that guy impressed me more than any oiler all season last night...and listening to the guy...lets see what happens when the honeymoon wears off..if he continues what he's started here he could be our future captain.....he seems like a guy with leadership, loyalty, hold player accountable(leadership), in decent shape(can play lots of minutes at a high level), he can score, but most of all he THINKS the game at a high high level, haven't seen a defenceman in edmonton think the game like him since Pronger (Visnovsky was 80 percent offence)..

You heard it here first...Whitney out next franchise player...I know I started the thread and mentioned Eberle, Hall/Seguin and so on...however, maybe years down the road they'll take over...for the next many years it'll be Whitney...Mark..My...Words....

i agree that whitney is a great dman, but franchise player for the next 5 yrs or so... i dont think so. it has to be our first rounder this year with eberle, hemmer and the supporting cast of brule gagner whitney smid ... just off the top of my head.

A franchise player is a player that the team builds around and is a superstar, and the team that has one will usually win the stanley cup.

They are not common. There is no way we will have fix of six of them!

Examples (not obviously the only ones just a sample)

Gretzky
Orr
Lemieux
Crosby
Lafleur
Yzerman

I see what you mean..and I agree, but I dont agree that you "Must" win a cup for a player to be considered a franchise player...would you have ever considered Marcel Dionne a franchise player?
If you would ever consider Chris Pronger a franchise type player(maybe not now, but when he was on the blues) I would definitely consider Whitney one...people will laugh at that statement..but honestly I see superstar written all over Whitney..I saw it in Pittsburgh, and I see it even more now...

I see what you mean..and I agree, but I dont agree that you "Must" win a cup for a player to be considered a franchise player...would you have ever considered Marcel Dionne a franchise player?
If you would ever consider Chris Pronger a franchise type player(maybe not now, but when he was on the blues) I would definitely consider Whitney one...people will laugh at that statement..but honestly I see superstar written all over Whitney..I saw it in Pittsburgh, and I see it even more now...

Do you think Pronger could've been a franchise player? You think he had that ability to be that kind of player? All I'm saying is Whitney has that same ability...Do you think Doug Weight was a franchise player for the Oilers? I think so...even though they never won the cup with him, they built around him....he definitely was no Crosby, or Gretzky, but..he was the most important player on the Oilers for many years...he was counted on for everything...funny thing is if you trace back the weight trade you get Whitney,